Team Racing
A fast-paced and sociable format with multiple short races
Competitors use boat handling skills and rules knowledge to work together strategically. The goal is to ensure your whole team finishes in a winning formation against an opponent. Races are often fought out to the final few inches before the finish line. Team racing is for teams of two, three or four boats, usually in supplied boats that are matched in performance and of the same one-design class.
How it works
Two teams at a time battle it out in a race and the outcome is decided by the points score of all the boats in a team. It may be tactically advantageous to slow down or sail back to impede the opposition to help out a team mate! Competing in multiple short races, typically lasting 10-15 minutes in a round robin, teams progress to knock-out stages to determine the overall champion.
Universities with BUSA and schools via the BSDRA do a lot of 3v3 boat team racing, generally in Firefly dinghies, while junior competitors use classes such as the Optimist, Topper and RS Feva. There are also keelboat team racing events. A well-established and popular team racing circuit in the UK has events taking place most weekends in the main season from October through to May. There are also national and international championships, attracting top level youth, adult and alumni teams from around the world, including the Wilson Trophy and World Sailing's Team Racing World Championship.
